Kentucky Derby: Race start time, top contenders for this year, and ways to watch the event

WASHINGTON — The first Saturday in May means it’s time for the 151st Kentucky Derby, America’s longest continuously held sporting event.

When nineteen horses dash 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs, it’s more than a mere race. It transforms into a spectacle with 150,000 attendees gathered beneath the Twin Spires. The event becomes a fusion of a fashion exhibit and an all-day celebration rich in customs such as sipping mint juleps, harmonizing to “My Old Kentucky Home,” and bestowing a red rose garland upon the champion.

Here’s your guide to the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

The official post time for the race is 6:57 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday.

The coverage of Derby Day on Saturday kicks off at noon Eastern Time on USA Network and Peacock streaming service. Subsequently, NBC and Peacock take over from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., while Telemundo Deportes commences at 6:30 p.m. on Universo and Telemundo app. FanDuel TV will broadcast all races held at Churchill Downs except for the Derby.

A customary pre-race ritual is the walkover, where the horses are guided from their lodgings to the paddock for saddling. Some horses remain composed and collected, while others exhibit nervousness and perspiration. They parade along the track edges, with fans cheering enthusiastically. The jockeys exit the jockeys’ room and proceed to the paddock to mount their horses.

Besides the sleek thoroughbreds, check out the crowd decked out in hats and fascinators, floral-print dresses and seersucker suits that make the Derby the world’s most fashionable sporting event.

Journalism was the 3-1 morning-line favorite. The Southern California-based colt is trained by Michael McCarthy and ridden by Umberto Rispoli. Journalism will break from the No. 8 post, which has had nine winners, the last being Mage in 2023. He has won four races in a row. The morning-line favorite has won 18 times, the last was Justify in 2018.

Sovereignty was the early second choice at 5-1. The Florida Derby winner is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado. He drew the No. 18 post, putting him outside most of the 20-horse field.

Third choice on the morning line was Sandman at 6-1 odds. The Arkansas Derby winner is trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Jose Ortiz. He will break from post 17, which has never produced a winner.

Six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert is back after serving a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs. He scratched Rodriguez, who won the Wood Memorial with a front-running style, on Thursday. That leaves Baffert with 20-1 long shot Citizen Bull, last year’s 2-year-old champion. He drew the dreaded No. 1 post with Martin Garcia aboard. No horse has won from the inside post since 1986.

Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas saddles his 51st Derby starter — second-most ever — with 30-1 shot American Promise. He has four Derby victories and at 89, he would be the oldest trainer to win. The colt drew the No. 5 post, which has had the most Derby winners with 10.

With Rodriguez scratched, Baeza moves into the field. The colt was runner-up in last month’s Santa Anita Derby and is trained by John Shirreffs, best known for guiding superstar Zenyatta and winning the Derby in 2005 with Giacomo at 50-1.

Grande, a 20-1 shot, was scratched on Friday with a sore foot, leaving 19 horses in the starting gate.

While some of the owners, trainers and jockeys are the same from year to year, the horses never are. The Derby is for male and female 3-year-olds only, meaning a horse is eligible just once in its career. Only three fillies have won, the last was in 1988.

The late country singer Toby Keith’s Dream Walkin Farms is a part-owner of 30-1 shot Render Judgment.

Former Philadelphia Phillies star Jayson Werth, whose stable is Two Eight Racing in a nod to his old jersey number, is a co-owner of Flying Mohawk, also at 30-1.

Grammy-nominated singer Grace Potter performs the national anthem on Derby Day. Seven-time Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles gives the “Riders’ up!” call, signaling the jockeys to climb aboard.

For the second straight year, the Derby total purse is $5 million, with the winning owner earning $1.3 million and a gold trophy. Second place is worth $1 million, with payouts down to fifth place. The winning horse’s breeding rights are likely to soar. The winning jockey typically receives 10% of the purse and a smaller trophy.

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